Ruba Ghazal

Ruba Ghazal
MNA
Ruba Ghazal MNA
Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for Mercier
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; October 18, 2018
Preceded by	Amir Khadir
Personal details
Born	December 6, 1977 (age 46); Beirut, Lebanon
Political party	Québec solidaire
Education	HEC Montréal; Université de Sherbrooke
Profession	Chartered accountant
Signature

Ruba Ghazal (born December 6, 1977) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec in the 2018 provincial election.^[1] She represents the electoral district of Mercier as a member of Québec solidaire.

Early life and education

Ghazal was born in Beirut, Lebanon to a family of Palestinian refugees. She lived in the United Arab Emirates until she was 10, when her family immigrated to Quebec.^[2] She studied at HEC Montréal.^[3]

Political career

Ghazal was a founding member of Québec solidaire in 2006, and was the party's candidate for Laurier-Dorion in the 2007 and 2008 general elections.^[4] In 2018, she was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec for Mercier, succeeding Amir Khadir.^[5]

Following the 2022 provincial election, she became the opposition critic for Education, Culture and Communications, the French Language, and the Status of Women.

In 2023, Ghazal ran for the co-spokesperson election of Québec Solidaire. Ghazal lost the election in the second round, getting 49.7% for Ghazal against Émilise Lessard-Therrien who obtained 50.3%.^[6]

Political views

Language issues

Ghazal has pushed for government policies to reverse the decline of the French language in Montreal.^[7] As Québec solidaire's critic for language issues, Ghazal has advocated for the creation of a special branch of the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) for Montreal.^[8]

Foreign policy

In 2021, Ghazal attended protests amid the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis against the Israeli government's actions in actions in Sheikh Jarrah. Ghazal stated that "One day we will look back and declare this a humanitarian crime against Palestinians."^[9] Ghazal was among the signatories of a 2021 letter opposing Canada's bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council due to the country's position on Palestine.^[10]

Electoral record

v t e 2022 Quebec general election: Mercier
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Québec solidaire	Ruba Ghazal	14,755	53.92	-0.58
	Parti Québécois	Sabrina Mercier-Ullhorn	3,986	14.57	+2.44
	Liberal	Catherine Boundjia	3,837	14.02	-3.69
	Coalition Avenir Québec	Florence Lavictoire	2,814	10.28	+2.24
	Conservative	Emmanuel Da Costa	1,051	3.84	+3.42
	Green	Véronique Langlois	818	2.99	-0.78
	Parti nul	Jenny Cartwright	102	0.37	-0.43
Total valid votes			27,363	99.14	–
Total rejected ballots			238	0.86	–
Turnout			27,601	63.62
Electors on the lists			43,387

v t e 2018 Quebec general election: Mercier
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Québec solidaire	Ruba Ghazal	15,919	54.5	+8.31
	Liberal	Gabrielle Collu	5,172	17.71	-5.31
	Parti Québécois	Michelle Blanc	3,542	12.13	-8.37
	Coalition Avenir Québec	Johanne Gagné	2,348	8.04	-0.34
	Green	Stephanie Rochemont	1,102	3.77
	New Democratic	Conrad Thompson	738	2.53
	Parti nul	Malou Marcil	233	0.8
	Conservative	Ludovic Proulx	122	0.42
	Marxist–Leninist	Serge Lachapelle	34	0.12
Total valid votes			29,210	98.91
Total rejected ballots			322	1.09
Turnout			29,532	65.56
Eligible voters			45,048
	Québec solidaire hold		Swing		+6.81
Source(s) "Rapport des résultats officiels du scrutin". Élections Québec.

References

^ "Quebec election: Québec Solidaire’s Ruba Ghazal wins in Mercier". Global News, October 1, 2018.
^ Stevenson, Verity (March 8, 2021). "For women of colour in Quebec politics, progress 'remains fragile,' MNA warns". CBC. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
^ "Quebec Solidaire names Ruba Ghazal as candidate for Mercier". Montreal. 2018-05-07. Retrieved 2022-10-01.
^ "L'environnementaliste Ruba Ghazal pour succéder à Amir Khadir". Radio-Canada (in Canadian French). May 7, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
^ "Quebec election: Québec Solidaire's Ruba Ghazal wins in Mercier - Montreal | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2022-10-01.
^ "Émilise Lessard-Therrien devient la nouvelle co-porte-parole de Québec solidaire" [Émilise Lessard-Therrien becomes Québec solidaire's new co-spokesperson]. Radio-Canada (in French). November 26, 2023. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
^ "Quebec Solidaire proposes new plan to tackle decline of French in Montreal". Montreal. 2021-03-15. Retrieved 2022-10-01.
^ "Québec solidaire wants OQLF to focus on Montreal". Montreal Gazette. March 15, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
^ Yeung, Diane (May 15, 2021). "Thousands unite in solidarity with Palestinians amid violence in Gaza and Jerusalem". The Link. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
^ "Canadian bid for UN security seat unnerved by over 1000 individual letters". Just Peace Advocates. 2020-06-11. Retrieved 2022-10-01.

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[1] "Quebec election: Québec Solidaire’s Ruba Ghazal wins in Mercier". Global News, October 1, 2018.

[2] Stevenson, Verity (March 8, 2021). "For women of colour in Quebec politics, progress 'remains fragile,' MNA warns". CBC. Retrieved September 30, 2022.

[3] "Quebec Solidaire names Ruba Ghazal as candidate for Mercier". Montreal. 2018-05-07. Retrieved 2022-10-01.

[4] "L'environnementaliste Ruba Ghazal pour succéder à Amir Khadir". Radio-Canada (in Canadian French). May 7, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2022.

[5] "Quebec election: Québec Solidaire's Ruba Ghazal wins in Mercier - Montreal | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2022-10-01.

[6] "Émilise Lessard-Therrien devient la nouvelle co-porte-parole de Québec solidaire" [Émilise Lessard-Therrien becomes Québec solidaire's new co-spokesperson]. Radio-Canada (in French). November 26, 2023. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2023.

[7] "Quebec Solidaire proposes new plan to tackle decline of French in Montreal". Montreal. 2021-03-15. Retrieved 2022-10-01.

[8] "Québec solidaire wants OQLF to focus on Montreal". Montreal Gazette. March 15, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2022.

[9] Yeung, Diane (May 15, 2021). "Thousands unite in solidarity with Palestinians amid violence in Gaza and Jerusalem". The Link. Retrieved September 30, 2022.

[10] "Canadian bid for UN security seat unnerved by over 1000 individual letters". Just Peace Advocates. 2020-06-11. Retrieved 2022-10-01.

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v t e Current members of the National Assembly of Quebec
Coalition Avenir Québec	Legault Abou-Khalil Allaire Asselin Bachand G. Bélanger S. Bélanger Bernard Biron Blais Blanchette Vézina Blouin Bogemans Boivin Roy Bonnardel Boulet Bourassa Bussière Caire Carmant Caron Champagne Jourdain Charest Charette D'Amours Déry Dionne Dorismond Drainville Dubé Dufour Duranceau Émond Fréchette Gagnon Gendron Girard (Groulx) Girard (Lac-Saint-Jean) Grondin Guilbault Guillemette Haytayan Hébert Jacques Jeannotte Jolin-Barrette Julien Lachance Lacombe Laforest Laframboise Lafrenière Lamontagne Lamothe LeBel I. Lecours L. Lecours Lemay Lemieux M. Lévesque S. Lévesque Mallette Martel Montigny Picard Poulet Poulin Proulx Provençal Reid Rivest Roberge Rouleau N. Roy S. Roy Sainte-Croix St-Louis Schmaltz Schneeberger Simard Skeete Soucy Tardif Thouin F. Tremblay S. Tremblay
Quebec Liberal Party	Tanguay Beauchemin Benjamin Cadet Caron Ciccone Derraji Dufour Fortin Garceau Kelley Lakhoyan Olivier Maccarone McGraw Morin Prass Rizqy Rotiroti Setlakwe
Québec solidaire	Labrie Nadeau-Dubois Bouazzi Cliche-Rivard Fontecilla Ghazal Grandmont Leduc Marissal Massé Zaga Mendez Zanetti
Parti Québécois†	St-Pierre Plamondon Arseneau Bérubé Paradis
Independent	Chassin Lefebvre Nichols
Party leaders listed first (in bold italics). Government members in bold denotes cabinet. † Party does not have official party status in the National Assembly.